a hundred little paper cranes
by infinite vertigo
Summary: One hundred cranes, one hundred moments for Neji and Tenten. Crane Four- "Enigmatic":  He takes her hand, his eyes lock with hers, his lips touch hers, his heart is hers. Romance
1. nonsensical

**.disclaimer: don't own.**

_**.theme:**__ origami._

_**.genre:**__ romance._

_**.word count:**__ 1,989._

_**.summary:**__ in which Tenten folds a thousand cranes, and Neji wonders for her sanity._

**.crane one: nonsensical.**

"One…"

The sound of paper being folded.

"Two…"

Another completed piece was carefully set aside, and for a brief period, silence elapsed before he heard another piece of paper being folded. Neji glanced up and watched his teammate and her nimble fingers create these cranes out of square pieces of paper. His silver eyes watched her curiously; his Byakugan, which helped him to see so much and come up with so many strategies, were at a complete loss. What exactly was the point of this rather ridiculous looking exercise? He frowned as she completed a third crane and set it aside, a soft smile spreading across her pink lips.

"Tenten."

"Hm?" she answered but didn't stop her activity.

"What are you doing?"

Her brown eyes flickered up, amusement dancing in them. He didn't like her knowing smile; he wasn't worried about her looking down on him, it was more like… she had a secret concerning the two of them and she refused to divulge it. He frowned and didn't break their gaze and awaited her answer quietly and patiently.

"Folding a thousand paper cranes." Crane four was finished.

"…Are you crazy?"

She laughed, a light, airy laugh that did funny things to Neji's heart. "Don't you know? You fold a thousand cranes and you get a wish." Crane five was finished.

"You are a lunatic."

She laughed again and Neji couldn't help but smile; he decided he liked the sound of her laugh. It did cause him discomfort in his heart and stomach, but at the same time, it made him feel happy. Like her happiness was his. She looked up, a smile still present on the delicate features of her face. He watched the strands of brown hair brush against her soft skin as she shook her head. "I'm not crazy; I just like to believe."

He watched as the sixth crane was placed next to the other five. He scoffed, but gently and still smiling, as he returned to reading his scroll, rolling his eyes. She saw and threw one of her earlier mess ups at his head, and he made no effort to dodge.

They were fourteen at the time.

**a year later…**

"Still folding?"

"Three hundred fourteen," she answered his question and placed another completed crane next to her. Neji looked around her room and he still couldn't fathom all the cranes she had folded. They were hung up around her room in strands; each strand had ten and they hung from her ceiling. So thirty one strands were hung up right now and he had no idea how she would fit a hundred…

But he had no worries for her and her silly little dream. Tenten had a way of making what she wanted work. By the time she reached a thousand, if she ever did, he would come into her room and see that there were none, and she had created a new room just for her creations.

She was a very diligent folder; the only reason she wasn't farther was because of missions, lack of paper, and her precision. On missions she never brought her paper because she didn't want it to get ruined, she kept running out of said pieces of paper and she had to use pretty, patterned paper, and, finally, she was so meticulous with her folding. Every fold was precise and every crane looked pristine, professional, and just like the rest of them. She threw out more than she could count because of a tiny imperfection.

Which wasted her paper and money, but Neji knew to not correct her methods.

"What's your wish going to be?" he asked, pausing from polishing some of his weapons. Not that he used many, but when he did need to polish them, he always came over to Tenten's because she always had the best quality polish and rags. And just because he liked to go to her house.

"If I tell you," she put crane three hundred fifteen next to the other four, and smiled at him mysteriously, "It won't come true."

He raised an eyebrow but smirked and returned to polishing his kunai in silence. They enjoyed each other's companies; no words were needed. In fact, silence was probably one of the best parts. Being around Lee and Gai constantly, the absence of sound was something they craved but rarely received.

"You're absurd."

"Mhm, you keep saying that."

They were fifteen at the time.

**a year later…**

Neji had no problem admitting to himself that he had a crush on Tenten.

He liked her; simple as that. She was refreshingly _normal_; he could talk to her without wanting to Jyuuken himself so he'd have an excuse to not talk, he could spend time with her without suddenly being pulled into running five hundred laps around Konoha, he could work together effectively with her. She was independent; she wore no makeup, she didn't dress up, her hair was consistently in the two buns, and most importantly she didn't care about what others thought of her. She didn't let the guys asking her out boost her ego and she didn't let the girls making rude comments about her (usually about getting to be so close to Neji) bring her down.

He did, however, have a problem being teased about his crush.

"Hey Neji, maybe you should fold those cranes too. Then when you get to a thousand, you can hope that you get the guts to ask her out!"

He rolled his eyes as Kiba and Naruto high fived each other and howled with laughter. He wouldn't indulge in such a frivolous activity. Besides, Tenten had been going at it for two years and she was only at seven hundred forty six. He wouldn't have that kind of patience.

"She likes you, you know."

He looked over in surprise at Sasuke, who smirked at him. Luckily for Neji, Sasuke refused to be anything like Naruto, so when Naruto made fun of Neji, Sasuke wouldn't, and vice versa. "Tenten. She likes you. Everyone can see it."

"That's great to know," Neji finished the last of his dango and stood up, preparing to leave.

"Oi! Going to go ask Tenten out?"

"No," he paused and turned around, smirking, "Going to practice my new technique that I'd like to use on you."

Naruto and Kiba avoided Neji for weeks after that.

He was sixteen at the time.

**a year later…**

They were sixteen when he developed his crush.

It took him a year to fall in love.

It took him seventeen seconds to confess, exactly. He timed it because he wanted to know how long the most excruciatingly painful and nerve-wracking moment of his life was.

_"I'm in love with you. Because you're one of the few people not in the Hyuuga clan I can stand, and the only person that I'm not forced to respect. You help me to train under any circumstances, you never complain, and you've always been there for me. I… I can't pinpoint a specific reason, so those may sound extremely lame and cliché. But… but if I can pinpoint a specific reason why I love you, then… I don't think I'm really in love with you."_

_ Neji looked up hesitantly, awaiting Tenten's response. She was silent—it wasn't that kind of silence that he liked, either. It was scary, unpredictable silence. When he looked up, he couldn't read her—was she shocked? Repulsed? Amazed? Confused? Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly agape, but aside from that, there was no other emotion. Her cheeks were slightly pink and she was still staring at him stupidly._

_ "I…" finally, after what felt like eternity, she spoke and her eyes darted back and forth nervously, before settling on the fingers she kept playing with, "I… don't know what to say… um…"_

_ "…Do you…"_

_ "Yes!" he jumped at her interruption, "I do, God, yes! I… I love you. It's not a bad thing that I don't know what to say… maybe it is, but it's not. I just don't know… how to tell you what I'm feeling. I'm happy, of course, I'm also… in awe… confused… in disbelief… happy…"_

_ Neji stopped listening after the first word; after hearing that she returned his feelings, he stepped forward and pulled her towards him. She hadn't realized it initially, but once she felt a hand cupping her chin and tilting her face upwards, she smiled slightly as she began closing her eyes, a smile on her lips as they got closer…_

_ She had been dreaming of this moment, as part of her foolish, girlish dreams of romance. A kiss from the boy that she grew up with and eventually fell in love with, what girl wouldn't want that? This moment was perfect… absolutely perfect… except…_

_ "Wait," she put a hand on his chest and pushed him away, startling him. They stared at each other in silence with surprised expressions before Tenten relaxed. Smiling apologetically, she spoke again and it was Neji's turn to be confused._

_ "What?"_

_ "I can't kiss you yet."_

That was last night, and today, Tenten had told him to meet her at her house. As he walked towards her house, his heart was beating wildly. She had assured him that he did nothing wrong, but he was still confused. Was he moving too fast? Did she not want to kiss him?

…Did his breath smell bad?

He frowned in confusion as he knocked at her door and waited for her to answer. These were the questions he plagued himself with last night. Everyone avoided him, even Hiashi and Hanabi knew to leave him alone at dinner when he gave them the signature Hyuuga glare after being asked how his day was. When Tenten opened the door, he smiled and nodded in response to her greeting, and followed her up to her room.

"Sorry about last night," she broke the silence and opened the room, leading him inside, "But I swear, I have a good reason. And it's not you. Trust me, Neji, any girl would kill for the chance to kiss you."

That reassured him slightly, he supposed.

Looking up, his eyes widened at her room. Last time he had been in her room, he had seen simple strands consisting of ten cranes each. Now she had one long garland that went around her entire room, a couple of strands hanging off of her lamp, and the rest of the cranes scattered on her bookshelf, dresser, desk, and nightstand. He had no idea how many there were; he just realized there were a lot. As his eyes scanned the room, it landed on the low table in the middle of the room, where she sat down, picking up the one, lone piece of square origami paper.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, sitting down at the table across from her. He watched as she nimbly, almost excruciatingly slowly transformed the piece of paper into a crane. Her slender fingers seemed to work magic on the patterned piece of paper; it started out flat and ordinary, and as he watched, it turned into a three dimensional crane.

She put it in the middle of her palm and smiled, looking at him across the table.

"Guess what number this is."

He opened his mouth to guess but before he could utter the number, she leaned over and softly pressed her lips to his. He felt her other hand resting on his jaw line and she smiled into the kiss, which instinctively made him smile back. When she pulled back her eyes fluttered open and she laughed, earning her a soft smirk from the Hyuuga, both seventeen year olds had light blushes across their cheeks.

"I had to wait for my thousandth crane," she whispered and laughed again when she saw his smirk widen. "What's with the smirk, Hyuuga?"

He sighed, mocking exasperation.

"You're nonsensical."

**Author's Notes: Remember 'Neji and Tenten: 100 Moments'? Does the thought of rereading it make you cringe? Yes? Well then, you're just like me, and you'll understand how I refuse to have my greatest achievement on this site have writing like that. This isn't going to replace it, it'll be a more improved version! I wonder if I can get to a hundred again…?**

**The title of this has to do with the 'thousand cranes equals one wish' myth, but I replaced 'thousand' with 'hundred' because there's no way I'm going to reach a thousand. And if you're mad at me for publishing something new, um, please don't be? I totally understand it from your point of view… but these are mean to be nice little oneshots that are relaxing for me to write, and to satisfy you people until something more serious can be updated.**

**There's a reason I said crane three hundred fourteen. If you can guess it, I will write a request for you! (Yeah, I'm pretty bored this break.) First come first serve; I'll definitely write one for the first one, the second will depend on the pairing and genre, as well as at what point in break I get the guess.**

**Thank you for reading, please review!**


	2. resolutions

**.disclaimer: don't own.**

_**.theme:**__ new years resolutions._

_**.genre:**__ romance, humor._

_**.word count:**__ 4,420._

_**.summary:** in which__ tenten has twelve resolutions for twelve months. and neji is at a complete loss each month._

_**.crane two: **__**resolutions.**_

**january **

"Neji! Look!"

The addressed looked up and raised an eyebrow slowly, blinking at the same speed and wondering what he was looking at. He was aware that Tenten had mentioned she made a list of New Year's resolutions, and while he was glad she didn't make generic ones like 'lose weight' or 'become a better person,' he couldn't help but wish some of her resolutions were _normal._

"What in the world are you _doing_?"

Tenten made a face at his incredulous expression and brought a hand up to steady the stack of bowls resting precariously on top of her head. The other hand was on her hip as she glared at him disapprovingly. "I'm going to learn how to dance! With china on top of my head!"

"That… that doesn't sound like a good idea…" Neji said hesitantly and winced as the stack slid off her head and crashed down onto the floor. She jumped to the side to avoid having her bare feet cut and stared at the mess, making a face and sighing. He was thankful they were at Tenten's apartment and not at Hyuuga manor; otherwise Tenten would be banished forever.

"Live life, Neji!" she scolded as she retrieved a plastic bag and began picking up the pieces and putting them in, "Life is short and you only live once, so try everything! Do you have any bowls I can borrow?"

He sighed and slid off her bed and carefully made his way over, avoiding the broken shards of china, and began helping her clean up the mess. When all the pieces had been picked up, luckily she only had three bowls on her head, she got her vacuum in the corner and turned it on, running it about a dozen times over the area to ensure that Neji wouldn't pierce his foot while walking around in his room one day. The vacuum was loud and as she turned it off, the decrescendo left a ringing sound in her ears, a ringing sound that she suddenly realized was Neji laughing.

"…What're you laughing at, Hyuuga?" she asked lightly, in a mock angry tone as she half smiled at him.

He shrugged, still chuckling.

"I'm scared to see what your other resolutions are."

**february**

"You have twelve resolutions?"

"One for each month!"

"Your resolutions seem more like a bucket list to me…"

"They're still goals, so it still counts!"

Neji rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else and looked at her again, coughing to cover his laugh. Tenten looked at him and stuck out a tongue. When Tenten said she was going to be Cupid, as her February resolution, he thought he would finally see the day that she would wear pink and a skirt (not that he was a pervert, of course), but to his shock, she had shown up in black pants, a black shirt, fingerless black gloves, and a black beanie. Her hair was let down and in a side braid, so he still didn't know what she looked down with her hair down, but he did realize that it was very long.

"Remind me again… why is Cupid… _black_?"

"Oh don't be silly, Neji," Tenten waved an arm and picked up her bow and arrow, scrutinizing them, "Everyone knows Cupid is European. So he's white."

"You know what I mean." He ran his eyes over her bow, remembering it was the same one she used to fight in battle, and cringed. The good news was that her arrows were _not_ sharp and poisonous like they usually were; the most damage they would do was a bit bruising. The bad news was that the bow had not been modified and, if Tenten pulled the string back far enough, she could easily send one of her "child safe" arrows through a brick wall.

"Oh, you mean my attire?" she asked as she strapped her belt around her waist loosely. To the belt was attached a pouch in which she had several arrows and Neji had the job of looking after the rest of them as she went out and shot at people for fun. "Do you really expect me to advocate pointless making out on Valentine's Day? I'm going to make sure no couple walks and sucks each other's faces off at the same time ever again."

Neji couldn't help but laugh at that, remembering how a few years ago she was carrying a bunch of bags and boxes after a spree at the weapons store, and a couple bumped into her. Unfortunately, she had been walking along the cliff overlooking a river and when the two bumped into her, everything she had purchased fell, never to be seen again.

The couple? Neji couldn't remember their names, but he did know they were never heard from again. Apparently they moved far, far away.

And Neji didn't blame them one bit.

"Have fun, Cupid-san," Neji relaxed and laid down on her bed, holding up a hand to bade her farewell as she picked up her bow. She grinned and winked at him before leaving her apartment, leaving Neji all alone.

As a mature seventeen year old, Neji would have alerted Konoha of Tenten's mission to ruin Valentine 's Day.

But as a mature seventeen year old that was a Hyuuga, he also hated Valentine's Day. And who was he to ruin Tenten's fun?

And she did look good in all black.

**march**

"Tenten."

"Neji."

"Tenten…"

"Neji…"

"_Tenten_…"

"Come on! Just a few more yen, please?"

Neji groaned in exasperation but relented, giving her a few more bills. She grinned and, without thinking twice, leaned up and kissed him chastely on the cheek before running back into the convenience store. The Hyuuga scoffed, but was blushing nevertheless, as he sat down on the bench and waited for her to come back.

Today, March 9th, was Tenten's eighteenth birthday. And as a celebration of turning eighteen, her resolution for March was to win the lottery. And so after her party, Neji had the pleasure of being dragged to the convenience store and watch her spend the little money she had. And then he realized why she dragged him along. Not only did she know he wouldn't leave her, he liked to be with her, she also knew if she asked enough, he'd lend her as much as she needed.

Sighing, the Hyuuga pocketed his wallet after seeing how much money he had left and realized he was almost out. Tenten would undoubtedly pay him back—if he let her. After all, it was only… two thousand yen that he lent her? And she had already spent eight thousand… so it was indeed quite a measly sum. Neji didn't care about the money. He liked to watch her face light up as she scratched off the silver stuff on the tickets; that glowing excitement was infectious.

It was well known throughout the village that Neji and Tenten were together but not _together._ More than friends, but not formally dating. They weren't taken, but they weren't available either.

"Neji! Nejiii!"

"Tenten, I only have a thousand yen left… if you really want, I can go back to the compound and get more, but we are _never_ going to go gambling together."

"No, Neji, look, I won!"

Neji frowned but took the lottery ticket that Tenten was holding and stared at it. Indeed, he saw three of the same symbols in a row and was quite surprised—Tenten had horrible luck. He wondered how in God's name this was possible; how could _Tenten_ of all people get so incredibly lucky? She was the one that was chased by a swarm of bees, almost run over by a herd of cows, and then dropped her sleeping bag into a volcano and had to share one with Neji (he supposed that was rather good luck), all in one mission.

Then his eyes dropped to the key indicating what she had won.

"Tenten, congratulations."

"See? See? I'm not horrible luck! I can have _good_ luck, see, all you have to do is have some faith that the world is still good and kind and…"

"Congratulations on winning a thousand yen after spending ten thousand."

"…Give me more money, Hyuuga."

**april**

Neji still didn't understand why he had to be dragged around with Tenten to do her bucket list of resolutions.

"Tenten. It's _April_."

"Yes. So?"

"So people don't make snow angels in April because the weather does not include snow in April. Because it's _April._"

"We're not making snow angels," Tenten answered simply, waving a hand to make him crouch down with her, "We're making mud angels."

"That's repulsing."

"Hey, I'm the girl. I should be more worried about getting dirty than you. What's wrong with this scenario?"

"We're using mud to replicate the activity of making a snow angel in a month that is typically thought of to be a month of spring. It does not _snow_ in _spring_ and therefore, this activity is pointless, degrading, and nonsensical."

"Oh, hush, Hyuuga. Dirty your pretty little hands for once in your life."

Neji sighed, but obeyed (really, how did she manage to do that?) and crouched down, making a face as he picked up a warm, oozing handful of mud with his fingers and tried to mold it. Frankly, it was impossible, but Neji decided he could just do this for the next couple of hours and leave Tenten to do the actual snowman, excuse me, _mudman_, construction by herself and…

_Wham._

Neji had been hit by a lot of things before. The Jyuuken, of course, while training, Tenten's weapons, Lee's stupid, _stupid_ weights, Naruto's fist, and Kidomaru's arrows, just to name a few of the more painful hits. But never before had he been hit with _mud._ In the _face._ He looked up slowly as he wiped off most of the mud with his hand, glaring at Tenten's smirking face.

"My my, Neji. Why so angry? Mud masks are _very_ beneficial for the skin after all…"

After that day, Neji discovered a new found appreciation for mud wrestling with Tenten.

**may**

Five twelfths of the year had elapsed and, frankly, Neji was finding himself falling in deep, endless, terrifying love with his teammate.

And growing crazy, but that was part of falling in love.

He liked to think that before he realized this, his feelings were progressing from an innocent crush to something more serious, something beyond the serious. Because Tenten wasn't just pretty. She wasn't a porcelain doll that was to be stared at, no, she was a person. A feisty, tomboyish, loyal, stubborn, determined, caring, gentle, sweet, awkward, amusing, happy person. Her eyes were a pretty brown, but they also blazed with determination. She had a pretty smile, a smile that she shared with everyone because of how bighearted she was. She had slender, elegant fingers that were also gentle and nimble. She had smooth brown hair, the shine reflected how she was responsible and took care of herself well and her hair style reflected how she wasn't fussy and had priorities above her looks.

Neji would do anything for her. Anything to watch her eyes light up, her lips curl into a smile, her cheeks flush that pretty pink; anything to hear the laugh and know that he was the source of her joy.

Even sit in the middle of a daisy field and let her make a flower headband for him to wear.

"Neji, you look very pretty."

"I hate your resolutions."

**june**

All Tenten had to do for her June resolution was show up in a cover up with her bikini showing underneath, two buckets, two shovels, and scuba gear. She was smiling widely and the Hyuuga's prodigal brain easily put two and two together, immediately feeling dread.

"Tenten, it's impossible to build a sand castle underwater."

She threw one of the buckets at him, smirking. "That's what you said about the mudman."

"We didn't make one."

"You sure looked like one, didn't you?"

He groaned, wondering why he didn't have _any_ normal friends. Lee was weird, Gai was weirder, Naruto and Kiba were obnoxious, Shino was a creep, Sasuke was his rival, Sai had a pedophilic smile, and Shikamaru was incomprehensibly lazy. Sakura and Ino were far too girly for him to spend more than ten minutes with and he wasn't exactly friends with Hinata. He stared at Tenten, realizing with dread that she was probably the closest and most normal friend he had. It made him quite sad, but at the same time, knew he couldn't get out of this.

"I'll go get ready."

**july**

Tenten's resolution for July not only affected her but also Neji.

Tentatively, the Hyuuga stared at the cake that his teammate placed in front of him, grinning proudly. It was obvious that she put a lot of effort into it and, aesthetically, it did look delicious. The frosting was white and 'Happy Birthday, Neji!' was elegantly written on in grey, and somehow she managed to draw a couple of birds on. But when he glanced up and saw Sai peering at the cake and nodding proudly, he realized Sai must've done the actual carrying out of the image that Tenten came up with.

It really was a beautiful three layer cake. But looks could be deceiving, and Neji was wary of biting in and tasting more eggshell than cake. Slowly, he took a forkful and lifted it up, the fork hovering in front of his lips. Everyone was watching him, he realized, and gulped.

_Just eat it. Sakura's here. She can save your life. Do it for Tenten. Don't make her mad. _

And without another pause, he ate it. And it was actually… _delicious_. His eyes widened in surprise and he swallowed, feeling and tasting nothing out of the ordinary. He looked up at Tenten and smiled genuinely. "Thank you, it's delicious."

Neji actually thought he was wrong about Tenten and that her cooking actually did improve.

But a few hours later, he was proven correct when he got a bad douse of food poisoning.

Apparently Tenten used spoiled eggs without realizing it.

**august**

"Tenten."

"You know, Neji, I swear, when we start these resolutions, most of the time the first thing you say is my name," Tenten said airily, smiling as she handed another child a piece of paper. She turned around and saw Neji was still standing there, having a glaring contest with one of the students and instantly, she glared at him. "Hyuuga Neji! You're here as a teacher's assistant! Not to fight with the children!"

"No, you're here as a teacher's assistant. I'm here against my will," Neji muttered but nonetheless, began to hand out the pieces of paper. He had glanced them over and scoffed; they were the typical "introduce yourself to the teacher" quizzes that all teachers handed out on the first day of Academy. He wasn't even sure if half of these kids could write, much less write about themselves.

Tenten's August resolution was to be a teacher's assistant. She had said that had she not been the type to fight, she would love to become a teacher.

Neji asked what the hell she was talking about and she agreed that she'd make a terrible teacher but wanted the experience of it.

"Hyuuga-san! Are you related to Hanabi-chan?"

"Yes I am," he answered monotonously as he made his way up the steps, passing out the papers. The boys whispered to each other and began asking Neji if he could "set them up" with Hanabi, requests that he ignored. The girls ogled at him and Neji smirked, feeling Tenten's glare from across the room. When they rejoined back at the front of the room, he tugged at her arm, causing her to fall back into him.

"Just like when we were in the Academy, hm?"

"Oh stuff it, you arrogant pighole!"

Neji laughed at her insult as Iruka walked in, greeting the class widely.

His laughter stopped when Iruka announced they would be practicing throwing shuriken today.

He swore his heart stopped when Iruka announced Neji would be the target.

**september**

"You come up with the strangest things."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment to my creativity."

"Elephant riding? _Elephant riding?_"

"You know, Neji, you don't have to come with me on these," Tenten answered, peering over the edge as the elephant was being led around in a clearing. She had heard of a circus coming to town and before Neji even realized she had slipped away, she already found the circus master and asked if she could ride the elephant. He still didn't know how she managed to do it, but he learned to not question Tenten's ability to do anything by now.

"Yes I do. You force me."

"You love it," she elbowed him lightly and he rolled his eyes behind her.

"It smells."

"I'm sorry, I don't think the elephant is potty trained."

"Why can't you be normal and… and like slugs?"

"…Liking slugs is normal?"

"Tsunade-sama likes slugs, doesn't she?"

"That's Tsunade-sama," Tenten answered airily, glancing over her shoulder and smiling, "I still aspire to be like her, but I don't want to be her. Because I'm my own person. I want to reach the same level of greatness, but I don't want to be remembered as the second Tsunade; I want to be remembered as Tenten."

She looked back straight ahead and was surprised when he laughed behind her, his deep baritone voice close to her ear which sent her heart rate accelerating and the blood to her cheeks. "Good," she heard him whisper lowly, "Don't ever change."

**october**

"Oh _hell_ no."

Those were the first three words out of Neji's mouth when she showed up in his room in a costume. He was surprised she decided to be Robin Hood instead of an executioner, but he supposed she'd rather carry around a bow and arrows than an axe or guillotine.

"Oh _hell_ yes. Put on a costume, Hyuuga, we're going trick or treating."

Neji's costume that night was a bed sheet with two holes for eyes.

And Hanabi would never let him forget it.

**november**

On November 30th, Neji showed up at Tenten's door and was greeted with bed hair and pajamas. She smiled cutely and waved, but Neji didn't falter. "What's up, Neji?"

"It's almost December."

"Yes. You should have a hat on otherwise you'll catch a chill."

"What about your resolution? I've been waiting all month to be dragged out of my room against my will and to do some childish activity, but you haven't done such a thing all month. Now I'm worried."

Tenten laughed, but that didn't lessen Neji's glare.

"I don't have a November resolution," she said simply, shrugging, "I have two for December. I know you love them, so wait a bit, okay?" she leaned forward and pecked him lightly on the cheek before closing the door and, probably, returning to bed.

Neji wasn't cold anymore as he walked back home.

**december**

The Hyuuga family had far too many people.

That thought occupied Neji's mind as he continued touching his forehead to a ground in a bow as each of the Hyuugas walked past, retiring to their room. _It must be well past eleven,_ Neji thought almost frantically as they walked painstakingly slowly, shuffling their feet on the hard wooden floor. He wanted to pick them up and send them back to their rooms; he was supposed to meet Tenten tonight. She knew of the Hyuuga family's traditional Christmas dinner, and so she assured him to go to her house as soon as he could.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji never exclaimed or spoke frantically to the head of the clan before but he was incredibly close tonight after everyone finally left, "May I go out?"

Hiashi raised an eyebrow but nodded. Hinata smiled shyly at him and Hanabi gave a wicked grin as he nearly bound up and ran out the door, grabbing only a coat and scarf and throwing them on.

The Hyuuga dinner was pointless. The food was excellent, he supposed; it was a feast that would probably feed a small village. However, the reason it took so long was that each of the elders and Hiashi gave a speech, with Hiashi being the last. The speeches were typically business affairs, such as missions and negotiations, or recognizing people, like how Hiashi mentioned how pleased he was to see Hinata grow more confident with each passing year. Usually Neji had no problem sitting through it (he was very good at looking interested while spacing out) but tonight he actually had somewhere to be and just could not wait to get out of there.

And then the exiting was horrible. First, everyone except Hiashi and the elders would go to a different room (Neji could not believe there was a room in the Hyuuga manor simply for the sake of exiting) and bow, staying in that position as the elders left slowly. Next came the higher ups of the main branch, then it went by age. When the entire main house (except Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi) had left, the members of the branch house would then take their leave. Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi stood by the door, supposedly serving as some kind of symbol lost in the piles of Hyuuga documents, but Neji had a feeling it was to make sure none of the elders of elderly fell over.

The minute Neji reached the door, it flew open and he was greeted by Tenten. As she led him in and sat him down on the couch close to the fire, she said that she had seen him sprinting over from Hyuuga manor from her window. He laughed, accepting the hot tea she offered him, and jokingly asked if she was waiting for him the entire night. With a smile, but no traces of sarcasm, she said yes.

"How was the dinner?"

"Tedious," he answered and finally warmed up enough to take off his scarf and coat, which he draped over the arm of the sofa he was on. He took a long sip of the tea, enjoying the warmth spreading through him and looked around her apartment. It looked quite barren compared to back at the Hyuuga manor, but it was expected. There were so many people there and the maids were in charge of decorating every single inch; even Neji's door had a wreath on it. But here, Tenten lived alone and it would be too much of an effort to put up a tree every year by herself and take it down. But there were twinkling lights strung up, giving a slight holiday cheer.

"At least you had good food, hm? I went to Naruto's. We had ramen."

"Expected," he smirked and she laughed. He knew that Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Lee, Tenten, and Sakura would gather for a Christmas dinner on their own. The first five had no other family and Sakura's were somehow always out on a mission around Christmas, and so she would join them. The jounins joined them too, occasionally, and some of the others would stop by. It seemed around this time of year, someone's family was always out, so there was always a place set at the dinner table for one more.

"Almost time for you to make a new list of resolutions," Neji commented as Tenten sat down on the couch next to him.

She looked over and grinned. "Are you excited?"

"I can hardly wait," he answered monotonously, sending her into laughter once again. He was curious, though, what her December resolution was. Of all of them, he was the most curious about this one as it would be the last of the year and, knowing Tenten, she would make it something important. "What's your December resolution?"

"Since it's the last month of the year, I wanted to do something important."

"I figured."

"Something that I've been waiting for all year."

"Seems reasonable."

"Something daring."

"As I expected."

"Look up."

Confused and bewildered at the sudden command, he looked up and saw a few leafs hanging with something red in the middle. He recalled seeing a bunch of these being sold at the Yamanaka's flower shop and wondered what the significance was; if anything, poinsettias would be much better plants for the Christmas season because they were quite _large_ and thus more visible. He hadn't even noticed this when he walked in.

"And that is…?" he asked, looking back at her. Whether it was the dim lighting or the fire, he wasn't sure, but he thought her cheeks were tinted pink.

"Mistletoe."

And then she kissed him, gently, chastely, softly. As he automatically put a hand on her waist to pull closer and another to cup her face, she smiled into the kiss and he couldn't help but smile back. She tasted like chocolate, smelled like vanilla, felt so soft, and her body fit perfectly into his. There was a surprise element that he hadn't been anticipating. Somewhere, deep down, he had anticipated a kiss because of their "nearly dating but not quite there" status for the past year or so, but he hadn't realized how, simply put, good the kiss would feel.

He didn't feel jolted by electricity and he didn't see fireworks go off. But he felt numb—in a good way, and felt safe and warm. Having her this close to him gave him a sense of security and a sense of protectiveness at the same time, a paradoxical but rather enjoyable feeling. Words couldn't describe it, no matter how many words he tried to use, this ethereal feeling couldn't be written down and expressed to one who had never experienced it.

"Do you want to know what my other resolution was?" she asked in a breathless voice when she pulled back. She smiled again and he noticed that her cheeks were still pink. Pink, he decided, was a good color on her. "I kind of cheated… my other resolution was already done a long time before the year even started."

"Oh?"

She laughed again and he smirked in response. It was snowing outside, but being here in Tenten's apartment, he felt so warm and happy. Here was everything he needed; the girl he was in love with, the girl whose laughter he'd do anything to hear, the girl with the eternally smiling eyes.

"To fall in love with you."

**Author's Notes: I'm going to fail my biology test because I decided to finish this instead… senioritis has officially hit. Sorry about the length; false reasoning led me to believe I could write twelve resolutions without this being too long. But alas. If you like this length (versus a shorter one of ~2k), then please tell me. Because I can always write more. A belated New Years related update concerning resolutions, which I always make but never keep… But regardless of that, I wish you guys luck with yours if you have any. Thank you for reading, please review!**

**Oh yeah, the three hundred fourteen from the last chapter was a reference to pi. Because I'm a math nerd. **


	3. fu

**.disclaimer: don't own.**

_**.theme: **__chinese new year__**.**_

_**.genre: **__romance, humor__** .**_

_**.word count**__: 2,645__**.**_

_**.summary:**__ in which neji is appalled at the pinyin of one of tenten's favorite words._

**.crane three:** **"fu".**

"Where's Tenten?"

Gai and Lee instantly paused; one was in the middle of a push up and the other was doing a jumping jack, stopping with his arms half up and legs apart. Neji stared at Lee who was in the half push up position, with both arms bent at an awkward angle and cringed; he could only imagine how painful and difficult it would be to keep that. It was a nice, cool January day and he had come to the training grounds that Team Gai assembled at everyday, looking for Tenten so they could begin their spar. However, to his surprise, his partner wasn't present.

"Tenten-san isn't here," Lee answered brightly, but Neji saw that he was shaking, "She is cleaning her house!"

"Tenten? Cleaning?" Neji found the thought absurd; Tenten was the messiest person he knew. On missions, she stuffed dirty clothes into her bag without folding them and dipping them in a nearby stream once, and always left a mess whenever they sat around the campfire and ate. As for her house… well, Neji always reminded him that when Konoha was destroyed by Pein, it looked worse.

"It is Chinese New Year tomorrow, is it not?" Gai chimed in, "I believe it is tradition to clean away the bad luck and decorating! After all, this is her favorite holiday, and Tenten has always been rather superstitious!"

Neji suddenly remembered that Tenten celebrated Chinese New Year with fervor. She was half Chinese, but born and raised in Japan, so not many people knew and assumed she was fully Japanese. Her mother and father had met while her father was on a mission in China (some obscure mission that Neji still wondered about to this day) where they met and fell in love, coming back to Japan to marry. Though she had never set foot in China, Tenten was very attached to her Chinese heritage, saying it reminded her of the mother she lost at too young of an age and made her feel unique. It showed in her clothing and favorite foods, and eventually she picked up a few Chinese words but had a long way to go to become fluent.

The Hyuuga nodded and turned around, hearing Lee fall to the ground as his arms finally gave out. As he made his way back to Konoha, he realized he was unconsciously heading towards Tenten apartment before he immediately corrected himself and headed to Ichiraku's ramen stand instead, where he found himself in the company of Team Seven.

"Hi Hyuuga-san!"

He gave a curt nod to Sakura's cheerful greeting, smirked at Naruto's absentminded wave as he slurped his ramen hungrily, and returned Sasuke's stare with his own. He sighed, saying a 'thank you' as a bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. He picked up the wooden chopsticks and broke them apart cleanly and stirred the ramen around, watching it swirl in the soup.

"Why aren't you with Tenten?" Sasuke was the first to break the silence and, judging by Sakura's head jerking up eager for his response, the question was on everyone's minds. Neji didn't blame them; he and Tenten were almost inseparable.

That didn't mean they were dating, however.

"She's cleaning."

"So?"

"If I go she'll make me help her clean."

"You don't like cleaning?"

"Do you like Itachi?"

"Actually…"

"No, shut up and eat your ramen, Uchiha."

The Hyuuga heard a light laughter from Sakura and a smirk from Sasuke. He sighed and blew on his ramen before eating it; he had never been too fond of ramen, but Ichiraku's was delicious. He had come to make an exception for it, always stopping by after returning late from a mission. He understood why Naruto was so obsessed with it; the food was delicious, the service was good, and occasionally they wouldn't have to pay.

"Hey Neji," Sakura turned to him suddenly, chopsticks holding a slice of egg hovering in midair, "Do you know why Tenten's keychain thing hangs upside down?"

Neji frowned at this. The last few days he did recall seeing a keychain dangling from Tenten's coin purse. It was in the shape of a diamond, made of red and seemed to be overstuffed with cotton. There was yellow embroidery on it around the corner, and some complex looking character in the middle. Now that Sakura mentioned it, it did seem that it was upside down. The clasp seemed to have been removed and sewed on elsewhere, as well as the tassel. "Because she's careless and hasn't realized it, most probably."

"Isn't it," Neji rolled his eyes when Sasuke interjected, smirking that he knew something his nemesis didn't, "Because it's good luck to have it hanging upside down?"

"That's weird…" Sakura frowned and looked upwards, "Why would it be good luck to have a keychain hanging upside down? Did she make it up?"

Sasuke shrugged, then lifted the bowl to his face and tilted it to drink the rest of the soup in it. Finished with it, he put it down and laid his chopsticks across the top of it, pushing it away from him. "I think the character itself is more interesting. Fu, isn't it?"

"Fu?" Sakura tilted her head, furrowing her brow as she looked at Sasuke, "Is that Chinese?"

Sasuke smirked and looked past the pinkette, straight at Neji. "Right, fu. Like in English, the spelling for the pinyin would be 'eff' 'you.'"

"…Uchiha," it was Neji's turn to frown as he held Sasuke's gaze steady, "Did you tell me to screw myself?"

**-X-x-X-**

If it weren't for Sakura and Naruto, Neji might have finally succeeded in killing that Uchiha brat. Over a misunderstanding, sure, but there were plenty of instances in which Neji could have used to defend himself, claiming it was retribution. He and Sasuke had a long history of fights, not even counting before the idiot defected to Orochimaru. Neji didn't hold that against him, however. Their rivalry was a friendly one; they both knew that deep down they were friends, but everyone else didn't.

He sighed and continued walking along the busy streets of Konoha. After leaving Ichiraku's, he ended up stopping by the Hyuuga compound, deciding to pass the day by reading in his room. Not only did he realize he kept thinking about Tenten's odd keychain, he also couldn't focus because Hanabi kept running around pretending she was a dragon. Now, not only did Neji need to see Tenten to see this vulgar character himself, but also to ask her why in God's name did she think giving Hanabi a dragon puppet was a good idea.

And so here he was, in front of Tenten's small apartment, rapping his knuckles on the wooden door and waiting for her to answer. He glanced to the side and saw a bunch of boxes, hurriedly stacked with miscellaneous objects in them. Leaning closer, he saw a kunai and smirked, fishing it out. Obviously, she didn't mean to throw that out.

"Huh? Neji?"

"Hn," was Neji's greeting and he looked past her, raising an eyebrow at the surprisingly neat house. All her miscellaneous possessions had been stored away and she seemed to be in the middle of wiping her tables and a vacuum was in a corner, just waiting to be used. She stepped aside to allow him to come in, and he held the kunai towards her absentmindedly, smirking at her gasp.

"D-did I…"

"Yes you did."

"I'm so sorry!" he heard her apologize to the kunai profusely and pull out the tiny scroll she always kept in her pocket, and the kunai disappeared with a poof. Replacing the scroll, she then looked up at him, pulling out the bobby pin that kept her bangs out of her face, running a finger through them messily. "What brings you here, Neji?"

"I…"

"Great," while he was looking around at her oddly clean house, she had grabbed the vacuum and forced him to take it, smiling brightly as she cut him off abruptly, "Then you can help me clean!"

She then disappeared before he could protest and he sighed, turning on the vacuum cleaner after plugging it in and running it over her carpet absentmindedly. It was slightly unnerving and calming to hear everything get sucked up; unnerving at the idea that Tenten's carpet was that incredibly littered with dirt and whatever else was down there, but also calming knowing that when he was done, the carpet would be nice and clean. Vacuuming in Tenten's was so much different than vacuuming in his own room; in Neji's room, when he vacuumed, there was no sound of anything being sucked up, only the sound of the vacuum whirring.

He was a meticulous vacuumer, making sure to get every last inch of her rather small apartment. Whatever Neji did, Neji did well, which was why, he suddenly realized, Tenten gave him the job of vacuuming. Because she could see if she had to keep wiping at a spot on a table or window, but she couldn't tell by looking at a carpet if it was clean enough or not. But if she gave Neji the vacuum, she could be sure that her carpet would be immaculate.

As he finished the half of her apartment that was carpeted, he turned it off and unplugged it, wrapping the cord around the machine carefully so Tenten wouldn't trip over it in the dark by accident. He then made his way into the kitchen, where he was greeted by the very reason he came here for: the upside down gold character on a red diagonal.

"Tenten."

"Yeah?" she was leaning over the sink and wiping down the windows when he entered. She gave the window one last wipe, looked at it with satisfaction, and clambered down from the counter, where she discarded her gloves and the wipe, looking around proudly. "I did a good job, didn't I? The one time a year when I actually clean. Now, there's a seven day window before this place turns into a catastrophe again…"

"Why is that upside down? And why are you hanging a character with such a vulgar English spelling in your house?"

Tenten blinked and followed her teammate's gaze to the sign on her wall, of the Chinese character hanging upside down. She blinked again and frowned, processing his second question. _Fu… fu… eff… you… eff you… _

"Neji," she laughed lightly and put a hand on his shoulder, realization and amusement dawning on her, "Why don't we wait until the actual New Year to discuss that?"

**-X-x-X-**

He had to admit, he was surprised at how well Tenten could cook. He had ventured into her room to read up on weapons history and when he came back down at her call, he was greeted by a feast of dishes. He never realized how much he liked Chinese food.

And now they were on her roof, staring up at the sky. They could see their breath in the chilly air and the blanket they shared did little to keep them warm; what did keep them warm was sitting next to each other, both unknowing of each other's rapid heart rates. Neji had serious qualms about sitting on the roof with Tenten, knowing that with Tenten's clumsiness and Neji's desire to save her from anything and everything, it certainly wouldn't end well. But once he saw Tenten had installed a railing on her roof, Neji relented, deciding the worst that would happen wouldn't be a broken neck, but getting the imprint of the railing on his face.

"So this is what you do?" Neji asked, taking another dumpling on the plate Tenten had brought out with her, "Sit on the roof and stare at the sky?"

"You know I like stargazing."

"I'd think you'd go out into the forest."

"Neji, out in the forest, I'd get attacked by a pack of wolves because I couldn't bear to hurt any of them."

He nodded, accepting her answer, and they lapsed into silence again. Distantly, they heard a clock chime, indicating it was midnight. Neji had never seen this clock; there was absolutely nothing resembling a clock tower in the little town of Konoha. He finally decided it must be a rather loud clock from one of the inhabitant's houses, probably one of Tenten's neighbors.

"Here."

"…You're really giving money?" he stared at the red envelope incredulously that Tenten offered him. The bright red of the envelope caused him to disregard the soft pink blush on her cheeks as she extended it further to him, refusing to look him in the eye. Relenting, Neji took the envelope and opened it, frowning as he took out what was inside. The amount didn't matter, honestly; he wasn't even planning to actually accept her money. But it was folded into an intricate looking heart, and he suddenly remembered that Tenten had a knack for origami. He couldn't help but smile slightly as he turned it over in his fingers, looking at it. "Thank you."

"Do you know what the character means?"

Neji had forgotten about the character until she brought it up again. Frowning, he replaced the heart and pocketed it carefully, making sure that it wouldn't bend in anyway. "Not quite. All I do know is that the vocalization of the spelling of the pinyin makes it sound like a profanity."

He noticed Tenten's light laughter. She turned to him slightly, so that she was facing him but not quite looking at him. Instead, she was looking past him, and he noticed how the moonlight cast a soft, pretty glow upon her face, illuminating her smooth, pale skin and her pink lips.

"Fu means luck."

"Luck?" Neji echoed, then frowned in confusion, "Quite the opposite from what 'eff' you could mean…"

She laughed again. "It's hung upside down because the word for "upside down" is a homonym for "arrived", so it's supposed to symbolize that luck is coming your way. Not that I need it anymore."

"You? Tenten, you are the unluckiest person in all of Konoha. You need as much luck as you could possibly…"

It wasn't often that Neji strung several words together; in fact, he found he only did so around Tenten. He had embarked on a mini tirade about how she was unlucky and, as a result, she might as well hang 'fu' upside down all year. Tenten usually listened to his speeches quietly, occasionally laughing when appropriate, never once interrupting him. But today she was daring and interrupted him with no words; with one swift, deft movement, she pressed her lips to his and effectively silenced him.

The blanket slipped from their shoulders but the two took no heed, not even feeling the coldness of the January air. Instinctively, Neji's hand went to her waist as she changed her position, sitting on his lap, never once breaking the contact of their kiss. She pulled back first and her eyes fluttered open, her lips curling into a shy laugh at his smirk.

"So that's what you meant by you don't need any luck," he whispered in a low voice, smiling as she hooked her arms around him and rested her forehead to his. His heart was racing like it did in the middle of a battle, but this adrenaline was so different and he loved it. The extremities of his body were cold but the rest of him was warm, a pleasant feeling spreading throughout his body at being this close to her. Her brown eyes looked up into his silver ones and he couldn't help but be infected by her wide grin.

"You know," Tenten said daintily and he gave a soft 'hmm' to indicate that he was listening, despite having his eyes closed, "We could make your definition of 'fu' work too…"

"…I see that luck really _has_ arrived."

**Author's Notes: So if you read on my profile, you'd know that I was locked out of my house for about three days, and, as a result, nothing has been written, so everything has been pushed back a week. I managed to write this because I felt the need to update and because I wished to commemorate this lovely holiday that gives me money, saving me from complete bankruptcy. So happy Chinese New Year to all who celebrate it! Thank you for reading, please review!**


	4. enigmatic

**.disclaimer: don't own.**

_**.theme: **__ambiguity__**.**_

_**.genre: **__romance__**.**_

_**.word count: **__1,698__**.**_

_**.summary:**__ he takes her hand, his eyes lock with hers, his lips touch hers, his heart is hers._

**.crane four:** **enigmatic.**

Without warning, _he_ appears behind _her_.

She needs not turn around to know that it is _him,_ because there is only one _him_ in all of Konoha. She could be tied up and blindfolded but would know if he stepped into the room because with him comes an air of electricity that makes her breath hitch, an accelerated heartbeat that he gives her just by appearing in her eyesight, a dizzy sensation just by glancing at her idly with his silver eyes that see all and know all.

His hand slips around her waist and she feels his lips against the crook of her neck. Instinctively she squirms because she is so ticklish and feels him smile against her soft skin. Her hand grips the rough bark of the tree they are on tightly but to no avail; the branch is far too large for her slender fingers to be able to grip well enough onto to ensure her safety. It is the highest tree in the forest with the most branches and fat, green leaves that provide her with both protection and shade. But at night the leaves have no use and she immediately goes to the one fat branch that is bare, giving her a perfect view of the nighttime sky.

Against the dark indigo sky, the bright moon almost blinds her, shining so proudly by itself among the company of glittering stars. Out of her normal outfit and in a loose t shirt and capris, the breeze in the nighttime air is refreshing and cool, but not chilly. The fabric flutters softly with each breeze, tickling her bare skin, just as the few strands of hair that snuck out of her signature hairstyle do as well.

She has never told him that she does this every night, yet somehow he knows where to find her, down to the very tree, the very branch, the very minute. Five minutes never pass before he appears, quietly and stealthily, just as a shinobi should be. She deduces it is from missions, as she frequently crawls out of her sleeping bag to enjoy the scenery.

There is something about the unknown that she takes pleasure in. Something about the mysterious that lie within the silent woods, within the endless universe, within the moon itself fascinates her. She isn't sure and can't put her finger on it, but the idea that she can't and will never understand makes her smile. She loves surprises, loves the unknown; loves not knowing, loves wondering.

In fact, she can't help but think, enigmatic is the perfect word for _him._

She feels him pull back, a sudden coldness overtaking her once his warmth leaves her neck. But as he makes himself comfortable, his hand instantly slithers to hers, interlocking their fingers and the warmth rushes through her again, blood pulsing, cheeks blushing, heart racing, all within a few seconds. His thumb traces soft circles on her hand, small and slender compared to his, the soft hands of a weapons mistress in the rough, strong hands of a Jyuuken user. She turns to look at him and he does too, lips curling into a smirk, eyes softening into a smile.

He takes her hand, his eyes lock with hers, his lips touch hers, his heart is hers.

That is the enigma, she wonders as he pulls back from the chaste kiss. _He_ chose _her_ of all people, rejecting the brides arranged by his uncle, rejecting the girls throwing themselves at him, rejecting the most beautiful and the most brilliant. She has been blessed, she reminds herself daily, she has been blessed and she is to never forget that. She doesn't need public affection or to announce their relationship in public. She is perfectly fine acting as his friend, his sparring partner, his teammate. Their relationship is known mainly because of blabbermouths but the two have had no part in spreading the news. To the villagers, they still appear as simply sparring partners and friends.

Even the way they look at each other is the same. Some of the elderly grandmothers in the village chuckle lightly and say that is because they have always been in love and have always looked at each other like that, that is why nothing is different.

He brings his other hand up and cups her face gently, leaning in again, his beautiful eyes half lidded. She obliges and leans forward, submitting herself to him, giving him everything she has because _she_ is _his_, every part of _her_ is _his_. His lips meet hers and she stops breathing at the perfection of the moment. She feels so blissfully, euphorically happy. She smiles and feels his lips curl into a soft smile as well and she laughs when he pulls back, a light, tinkling laugh that is too soft to resonate throughout the forest but resonates in his heart.

He smiles, a soft beautiful smile that melts her before resuming his gaze to the sky, expression emotionless. Her eyes linger on his profile for a moment before she looks away into the distance with him, contemplating the enigma that she is in love with.

He is quiet and serious, a façade that he maintains in any situation, like a mask that she has tried to pry off but has given up because it is stuck on permanently, covering who he really is. His eyes, the eyes that see through everything, are, ironically, impossible to see through. She has spent countless days and hours staring into them, trying to decipher who he is but to no avail. Though the silvery orbs draw her in, that is all they do; it is as if there is a wall that she simply cannot get past. He is not like her, he laughs dryly, he is not open and easy to read like a book, not as easily trusting, not as sociable, not as warm as she is.

To which she vehemently objects, she always retorts back, as he is so kind, so caring, so loyal. He has never left a teammate in need, putting his teammate's lives over the objective of the mission no matter what the consequences may be. He has two sides, she always concludes ignoring the rolling of his eyes, one that everyone sees and another that he shows no one but slips through. Because beneath that exterior is a kind person, a warm core that his outer self cannot extinguish no matter what because it represents who he is and he can never escape himself.

She whispers his name and he grunts softly in response, something she finds rather endearing. Though a seemingly rude gesture, it is simply who he is. The lack of an actual response is because he is arrogant, refusing to be distracted by little things, but the honesty of it, the fact that he never feigns interest is his honesty, a virtue that she appreciates above all else. She doesn't say anything else and he doesn't ask. It is something she finds herself doing often: whispering his name, hearing his response, and elapsing back into silence.

Perhaps one of the most enigmatic things about him is the way that he cares for her so deeply, so passionately, so ardently but she finds herself feeling alone. Which is ludicrous because she _knows_ he loves her, that just as she is his, he is hers. The way he looks at her sometimes, those rare, tender looks that express everything he feels for her are so intense that she almost finds herself shrinking away, unable to ever understand just how deep his feelings are, just as he probably will not ever understand just how much she loves him.

At the same time when his looks can be smoldering, they can be so nonchalant and blasé that they scare her. She can't help but wonder if this is the same person, the one who looks at her with such kind eyes and the one that looks at her with cold eyes, telling her monotonously what her responsibility is for this mission. It makes sense, of course, she has no doubt about that. She doesn't want him to treat her differently, no, not at all. But he is so good at being these two different people that it scares her.

Because the most enigmatic and terrifying thing about him is his mystery. She realizes that after more than a decade of sparring and friendship, she still cannot identify who he really is. She always had the girlish notion that when she fell in love, she would know everything about the person: his favorite food, his favorite color, his odd habits, his likes, his dislikes, etc. And, quite honestly, she does know all of that. She can easily list what he likes and doesn't, knows what to cook for him, knows how to fold his clothes so that they fold just right, knows what time is best to ask him for something. But she cannot describe him because how can she?

He is kind but he is cold.

He is caring but he is distant.

He is protective but he is independent.

He is paradoxical, a true enigma, a genuine puzzle.

And then she realizes that she cannot classify him with words, that no one can be classified with words. Humans cannot be sorted into boxes because they overlap, they are all unique, no one is the same. Because every human is mysterious; tags cannot be put on them, labels will not stick. People change all the time and characteristics muddle together and a few words or phrases do not have the power to capture all of who they are.

That is part of the beauty of humanity, she muses, swinging her legs and looking at the bright moon, that they are each puzzles, their true selves sometimes hidden away and treated like Pandora's Box. Some people have no problem opening the box but others do and she and him are perfect examples of that.

But mystery is intriguing and enigmas are beautiful. She doesn't understand him and she never will because he is paradoxical, he is enigmatic, but above all, he is _human._

**Author's Notes: So on Friday I found out I was waitlisted from my number one school so this weekend has been one of depression and isolation. But I felt guilty because I don't think I've updated in two weeks so as I was rereading a chapter for **_**Light in August**_**, I realized that the chapter made use of ambiguous pronouns, which I rather liked. So, completely out of ideas, I decided to ramble without using their actual names and this is what resulted. I hope you enjoyed it!**


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